Course Overview

The course provides an overview of the current challenges of the fashion industry, giving students the tools to be able to handle the contemporary complexity of the fashion system and the increasing importance of sustainability. Students will learn to define the brand concept clearly and convey sustainability principles through different touchpoints connecting the brand and target audiences. Students will also understand how to manage a sustainable supply chain and respect human rights in countries of origin. In this way, students can apply green marketing in the fashion field, evaluating new trends in consumer behaviour, cause-marketing and eco-labelling. The course will be based on theoretical insights and practical experiences.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Understand the concept of brand and its different declinations across the many modern-day touchpoints;
• Understand new fashion brand management practices through the lens of sustainability and green marketing;
• Analyze effective systems of sustainable fashion management;
• Raise awareness of ethical issues.

Course Content

Course Introduction: Sustainable Fashion: an Overview

Sustainable Fashion: an Introduction to Different Business Models.

Sustainable Fashion and New Customer Generation

Sustainable Fashion and creative process: from design to production.

Sustainable Fashion and Corporate Social Responsibility

Sustainable Fashion, Circular Economy and Collaborative Fashion Consumption

Sustainable Fashion and new technologies.

Sustainable Fashion and communication strategies, from traditional tools to new media.

Sustainable Fashion and communication strategies, how to engage costumer through space design, events and immersive activities.

Real Sustainable Fashion and the problem of greenwashing.

Instructional Method

The course involves a hybrid form of participation, including theoretical lectures, the presentation of case studies with a subsequent in-class discussion phase to develop students' critical thinking and communication skills, and the development and in-class presentation of the various stages of research and development of the final project.

Required Course Materials

Some useful texts for understanding the topic are:

Rinaldi, F. R. (2019) Fashion Industry 2030, Milano: EGEA
https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/documents/2018-07/ipsos-thinks-beyond-binary-lives-loves-generation-z_0.pdf
Fletcher, K. (2014) Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys, New York: Routledge
Dickson, M.A, Loker, S., Eckman, M. (2009) Social Responsibility in the Global Apparel Industry, New York, Fairchild Books
https://www.unido.org/sites/default/files/2017-07/Circular_Economy_UNIDO_0.pdf
https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/PDF-74/Accenture-GCA-Circular-FashionTech-Trend-Report-2018.pdf
Han, SL. C., Henninger, C. E. , Apeagyei, P. et al. (2017) Determining effective sustainable fashion communication strategies. In: Sustainability in Fashion: A Cradle to Upcycle Approach. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham , pp. 127-149
Strähle, J., Müller, V. (2017) Key Aspects of Sustainability in Fashion Retail. In: Green Fashion Retail, ed. Strähle, J., Berlin: Springer, pp. 7-26
https://www.voguebusiness.com/companies/rise-of-word-sustainability-fashion-annual-reports

Assessment

(10% of the final assessment is based on the student's participation in the case study discussions.

70% of the final assessment is based on the presentation of a group work that will consist of analysing a given sustainable fashion brand and developing a proposal for a strategic and creative communication project idea. The presentation will be in the form of an oral presentation with PowerPoint support.

 20% of the final assessment is based on an oral examination of 3 questions on the contents of the lectures, the indicated texts and the presented project.